Odin Borson is the son of Bor, and Bestla, a giantess. Bor and Bestla had three other sons, Cul, Vili, and Ve. Odin, Vili, and Ve bested Ymir the Frost Giant, constructing the cosmos from Ymir’s corpse. Together, the three brothers established Asgard, which became the home of the gods.
Odin once battled an unbelievably powerful cosmic storm called the God Tempest when it threatened Asgard. Odin defeated the God Tempest and sealed it away into a chunk of Uru that would one day be forged into the mighty hammer Mjolnir.
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Other Personas of Odin Borson
History
THE AVENGERS OF 1,000,000 BC
At some point, Odin went to Midgard (known as Aesheim at the time) and created the humans. Bor was ill-pleased and afflicted them with suffering.
Initially struggling to control Mjolnir, Odin befriended a number of mystically-empowered prehistoric humans, forming the Stone Age Avengers to defend Earth from threats like the out-of-control Celestial known as the Fallen. Odin wanted to nail the Fallen's corpse to the Moon as a warning to other Celestials, but instead he and the Avengers sealed the Fallen in an underground chamber in the modern-day country of South Africa. He entered into a romantic relationship with his comrade Lady Phoenix, who survived for longer than any of their comrades.
THOR & LOKI
Odin made Frigga, the Asgardian goddess of fertility, marriage and motherhood, his queen. Odin mated with Jord, in order to sire Thor. Later, Odin and his army battled King Laufey and the Giants of Jotunheim. As Laufey went to kill Odin, he was defeated and left for dead. Odin adopted Loki, son of Laufey, as his own son. Unknown to him, this part was a trick set up by a future Loki to ensure their destiny.
BANISHING THOR
At one point, Odin decided that it was time for his son Thor to learn humility. Odin had Thor surrender his hammer to him and then sent him to Earth in the mortal guise of a crippled young medical student named Donald Blake, stripped of his memory (again) of his true identity. As Blake, Thor learned the value of humble perseverance in dealing with his injured leg, and he came to care for the sick and dying, first as a medical student, and later as a successful physician. After Thor had spent ten years in the role of Blake, Odin planted within Blake's mind the suggestion to take a vacation in Norway. There Blake encountered a party of alien Kronans, also known as the Stone Men from Saturn, and rediscovered his magical hammer Mjolnir.
Odin continued to take a great interest in his son's life, even though there was often friction between them because of Thor's love for Earth and its inhabitants. When Thor fell in love with his assistant Jane Foster, Odin disapproved and went to great lengths to break the relationship: He sent Loki to persuade the Enchantress to travel to Earth and seduce Thor, and when that failed, Odin even traveled to Earth himself, which caused Loki to abuse his absence to try and claim the Asgardian throne for himself. When Thor decided to reveal his secret identity as Donald Blake to her, Odin temporarily removed his powers.
ODIN'S LOST DAUGHTER
Years after Odin went into exile himself, he traveled to the Tenth Realm of Heven and discovered his long-lost daughter Angela. He revealed to Angela her true heritage as an Asgardian and offered to join him and the other Asgardians. Having been raised an Angel and taught to hate Asgardians, Angela refused. The All-Father then set to return to Asgardia.
After returning to Asgardia with his brother, Freyja revealed King Loki's existence and their plans for Asgardia's golden future by forcing present day Loki to become evil once more. Odin berated his wife, claiming that he wished no part of the plan and that Loki would not go easily into any "box" they planned for him. After Loki revealed that he had killed and stolen the body of the young Loki Thor had resurrected, thus being beaten and exiled from Asgardia by Freyja, Odin appeared to Loki and told him that he already knew, reaffirming that Loki was his child and that he loved him nevertheless. However, Odin refused to help Loki, claiming that he needed to pay for killing his better self and to remember what a lie was before sending him back to Earth.
THE NEW THOR
After Thor became unworthy to wield Mjolnir, Odin attempted to retrieve it, but the worthiness enchantment had changed, which caused Odin to become unworthy to lift it as well. Soon after, Odin learned that a new Thor had been taken up the mystical weapon. Odin took this personally and wanted the hammer back. Odin asked Heimdall who the new Thor was, but Heimdall told Odin that he wasn't omniscient and even he couldn't determine the new Thor's identity. So, Odin ordered his son, the original Thor, now going by the name of Odinson, to determine the identity of the new Thor. Odin eventually decided to simply get the hammer back and sent his revived brother, Cul Borson, to retrieve it while in the Destroyer Armor, however, this plan failed.
Following the disappearance of the Odinson, Odin became a tyrant and began to rule Asgardia with an iron fist, using the Thunder Guard and the Destroyer Armor to protect his sovereignty, and going as far as imprisoning anyone opposing him, including his own wife, for having assisted the new Thor against the Destroyer. When Thor interrupted Frigga's trial, Odin confronted her and they fought. The battle was halted after Loki attacked Frigga with a poisoned dagger. Odin retreated to the chamber of the Odinsleep to treat Frigga, and remained there for months transfusing portions of his powers unto her body. He resurfaced when the Mangog returned, and attempted to kill the creature with Odinson's help, to no avail. The Asgardians were saved by Thor, who killed the Mangog at the cost of destroying Mjolnir. The hammer's destruction caused Thor to revert to the ill mortal form of Jane Foster and succumb to her cancer. Jane's sacrifice gained her Odin's respect. Because of this, the All-Father joined his son's efforts in channeling the God Tempest's power to bring her back to life.
When Malekith prepared to launch the final attack in his War of the Realms to take over Misgard, he sent Dark Elf assassins after Odin. He managed to fend off the assailants and joined the fight against Malekith's army in Manhattan. Since he was still heavily injured, he was taken to the Avengers Mountain to rest. Odin woke up when the heroes were already mounting a counter-offensive, and Freyja had gone on a mission to Svartalfheim to destroy the Black Bifrost, the means of transportation of Malekith and his army across the Ten Realms. Odin went to her aid, clad in the Iron All-Father Armor of Iron Man's design, but both were taken hostage by Malekith after they destroyed the Black Biforst.
Odin and Freyja were taken to Stonehenge, where Malekith laid a trap for Thor, erecting a magical barrier that would kill his parents if anybody other than him passed through. Thor managed to overcome Malekith's gambit by recruiting his young self from the past and his older self from the future, who were also joined by Jane Foster, temporarily restored to her Thor form. Following the victory over Malekith and Thor reclaiming the reforged Mjolnir, Odin declared Thor the New All-Father of Asgard. Following the war, Odin still suffered from the event and was angered when Thor was late to his coronation. His wife calmed him down, and eventually Thor was appointed the All-Father.